


Nothing else matters

by MrsHoot_Hoot26



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, M/M, saying goodbye, studying abroad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:41:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29182686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsHoot_Hoot26/pseuds/MrsHoot_Hoot26
Summary: ''Until two weeks ago, he’d thought he didn’t need anyone else to be able to live on his own in a different country.Truth was, however, that he might not need people to survive, but he definitely needed people to live. ''Akaashi goes to study abroad for a semester. He stays in a student accommodation from the Tokyo University, where he meets Bokuto and where his whole experience changes.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Couldn't be much more from the heart

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Nothing else matters](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/754677) by Metallica. 



He had never been someone very out of the ordinary. ‘Routine’ and ‘rhythm’ were the words he related with most and which brought him the peace he needed to conquer the daily agitations.

Even on weekends, he liked to get up at 6 AM, go for a run, take a shower and eat his breakfast in the same spot at the breakfast table as always. Then, instead of going to his classes, he would do some work until 1 PM, the time he would start making his lunch. The afternoon was usually spent cleaning his room or helping his parents around the house.

He loved clinging on to a schedule since it made him feel organised and on track.

That's also why he hated surprises. Almost every time, they would turn out to destroy the plans he had created the day before and cause him to be behind on the things he still needed to do. Despite him knowing that one day was not enough to make him be behind on life, he hated the feeling of chaos, messes, and, maybe most important, lack of power. Organisation gave him control, a solid ground beneath his feet, and it made him feel safe. Beyond his own daily routine, there was a big, scary world filled with strings he was not able to pull and the barrier between these worlds had always been clear to him. He was okay with it, truly, though this was only because he had no trouble in managing himself. Discipline and restraint; those were the third and last words he thought of while once again reading the paper in front of him. 

It was one of the tasks he had been ought to complete to be able to study abroad for one semester. He had chosen Tokyo since his parents were Japanese and he spoke the language rather well, so it had seemed like the most reasonable option for him.

Besides, it would look good on his resume. The University of Tokyo was one of the best in the whole of Asia and at some point in his childhood, he had decided that once the opportunity to study over there appeared, he would grab it with both of his hands. He was going to establish the best education possible and no one was going to stop him.

Unable to suppress a yawn, Akaashi took a bite from the dinner that was mostly being ignored and he scrolled towards the reflection on his personal development that he needed to complete this day. Every two weeks, he had to reflect on the statements he had made at the beginning of the journey, so the tutors from his home institution would have a clear and detailed view of his development during his stay at one of the university accommodations. 

The people in the dining hall were loud, but Akaashi didn’t mind. He liked having conversations from other people as background noise. They helped him block out the unnecessary thoughts, without actually drowning out the main ones that he needed to be able to concentrate on his work. For him, this was the optimal working environment.

And yes, it had become a habit of him to eat his dinner while working on his projects, but it had not always been like that. Two months ago, when he arrived at the university accommodation, he had slowly become friends with the two other people living on his floor: Chikara and Hisashi -or, to Japanese customs, Ennoshita and Kinoshita. They had come from a university in Sendai, which lay a bit more to the north from Tokyo, and they often had eaten breakfast and dinner together. However, just as Akaashi, they had been here for only the semester, so when winter break came, they had returned home right away.

After that, Akaashi had been alone again and since it somehow felt worse to sit alone while knowing how it felt to be with people, he decided to bring his work with him. Besides, it was not like the feeling of being on his own had disappeared these past months. It had only taken him a couple of days to get used to the freedom of taking care of himself again and while he used the dinnertimes as an excuse to get out of his room, he enjoyed it too. 

Due to a miscommunication with his family, his parents would be out of town during Christmas anyway, and because Akaashi had not wanted them to cancel their trip, he had decided to stay just a bit longer. Spending a few extra weeks in the city that had become his home the last few months, didn’t seem like such a bad idea.

He was not ready to go home just yet.

* * *

‘Is this seat taken?’

On one of his usual mornings at breakfast, Akaashi looked up from his book to find someone standing in front of him. With a tray in his hands, he looked down on him, apparently waiting for a response.

Akaashi had seen (mostly heard) the guy before and coincidentally they had sat at the same table as each other, but they’d never actually had a conversation with just the two of them. To be honest, Akaashi was not sure the guy had even told him his name before. Maybe he had said it very quickly between his lines, but Akaashi doubted that since he normally had no problem with remembering. Even the names of people who never really took any interest in him could stick with him for years.

Now, however, with approximately ten empty chairs surrounding Akaashi with his half-eaten breakfast and a retelling of a Mesopotamian tale in his hand, there was no doubt the guy had intended to break the ice between them.

‘Uh, of course,’ Akaashi said, after which he felt his cheeks burn up a little. Of course the seat wasn’t taken, the guy would have seen that. Silently, he imprecated himself for being so awkward when it came to talking to strangers.

‘So, you’re alone now, right?’ The guy sat down, said a quick thanks for the food and while picking up his chopsticks he looked at Akaashi, who could only look at him a little surprised.

With just the two of them at one big table, Akaashi was only now able to pay a bit more attention to him. His hair was dark as well as kind of silvery and with spikes in literally every direction. It looked a bit like his head was covered in small antlers. Only the bravest of birds would try to sit in that, Akaashi thought, while descending towards his eyes.

Then, he realised he had to change that statement. His hair was more like feathers. No bird would try and sit on it because the guy himself was the bird. Well, as far as it was humanly possible that was.

Still, with his enormous round eyes, which were more golden than the sun that morning, the guy perfectly resembled a curious owl.

‘As far as I’m aware, I’m currently sitting with you.’

The guy grinned widely.

‘Humour, I like it. But I meant on your floor. Ennoshita and Kinoshita left, right?’

‘Yes, last Friday.’

Since it seemed like a bit rude to keep hold of it, Akaashi laid down the book and continued his own breakfast. It had cooled down quite a bit already.

‘Pity, they were nice guys. Quiet, but yeah, very nice. Is it lonely without them? You always sit alone nowadays.’

 _Nosey_ , Akaashi thought, while studying the expression of the guy in front of him. He looked sincere though, not at all trying to imply anything. Just…curious, despite his poor choice of words.

Normally he would have just ignored questions like this, but something in his gut told him that maybe some change wasn’t that bad at all. He could never be friends with guys like the one opposite of him, but he had this strange idea that the guy would not take it well if he told him off like that. Moreover, it was also kind of a rude thing to do.

‘I do not mind being by myself if that’s what you want to know.’

‘Then what do you like to do by yourself?’ The guy threw a quick glance at the book. ‘Besides reading. Do you like reading? What are you reading? Is it fun?’

A bit startled by the waterfall of questions, Akaashi swallowed some rice and picked up the book again.

‘Yes, I like reading. This is a retelling of a Mesopotamian tale. '‘Appointment in Samarra’' it is called.’

‘What is it about?’

‘About the servant that goes to the market in Baghdad, where he meets Death. Thinking that Death wants to kill him, he flees to Samarra. When the master of the servant, a merchant, meets Death at the market in Baghdad, he asks him why threatened his servant. Upon this, Death answers that he had not threatened the servant the day before, but that he was only surprised to see him. The merchant asks him why and Death then says that this was because he had an appointment with the servant that very day in Samarra.’

The guy looked at him with raised eyebrows.

‘It sounds sad. And why read the story if you know the ending already? Doesn’t that make reading that book a bit pointless?’

‘On the contrary,’ Akaashi replied, questioning himself why he started talking so easily to a stranger in the first place. ‘The servant thinks he can be smarter than Death by trying to flee to a city he thinks Death will never find him. But this is Death we’re talking about and apparently, everything, every life, has been set out already.’

‘So it’s about coincidence and fate?’

Slowly, Akaashi nodded.

‘Of course there are more themes to it, but yes, you could say that.’

At this, that wide grin appeared on the guy's face again and with a mouth full of egg, he started talking. Akaashi could see the pieces of egg being crushed by his teeth.

‘So, what do you believe?’

‘Sorry?’

‘Do you believe in coincidence or fate?’

‘That’s quite a heavy question on the early morning, don’t you think?’

'Do you really think the time of day should decide what answer you will give?' With a smirk, the guy took another bite. 

Thinking of an answer, Akaashi bit his lip.

This guy really was something different. He hadn't meant it like that. Of course, the time of day shouldn't decide the answer given, but the level of friendship should. They didn't know each other that well, so Akaashi didn't understand why he would want to know something so personal. He wasn't even sure if the guy knew _his_ name. And what could he possibly want with that information? What use had knowing if he believed in coincidence or fate to him? He was probably going to forget it anyway.

'You know what,' the guy said while taking his phone out of his pocket and putting it on the table. 'Why don't you tell me that another time? You clearly need some time to think. Do you have Facebook?'

'Uh, yeah,' Akaashi mumbled with the memory burned in his memory of him making a profile to share his summaries with his classmates in sixth grade. 

The guy unlocked his phone, then shoved it to Akaashi. 

'Please, befriend me on Facebook,' he said in such a childish tone, that Akaashi found himself pressing his lips together. It was kind of adoring, though he was reluctant to admit it.

He searched his profile, which had last been used in 2015, and clicked on the 'follow' button. Then he quickly glanced at the name in the corner of the screen, before handing back the phone.

'Here you go.' 

'Great, now I know how to find you when you don't accept my request.' 

Bokuto Koutaro smiled at him and, for the first time in what felt like days, Akaashi smiled back. 

* * *

It was in the evening of that very same day, that Akaashi came back from a shower and noticed that he had two new messages on his phone.

In general, he was not someone who was very attached to his phone, but ever since his grandmother had come down with the flu, he found himself checking the notifications at various moments in the day. Slowly this had become part of his routine, so even now that everyone in his family was healthy, he couldn’t help but occasionally grab his phone to make sure the situation remained like this.

These days, he didn’t really expect to see anything, and thus he was extra surprised to see that these messages came from Bokuto Kotaro, the guy that he’d only met this morning.

[Bokuto Kotaro]: Hey hey hey!

[Bokuto Kotaro]: Are you there?

Akaashi put down his phone and a bit bewildered, he changed into some comfortable clothes. Then he typed in his password on his lock screen and thought about an answer.

[Akaashi Keiji]: Yes, Bokuto-san.

[Akaashi Keiji]: I’m here.

It was a bit obvious of course since Bokuto could just look at his profile picture, but Akaashi still thought this was the most reasonable answer to give. What else was there to say right?

His phone started vibrating a few minutes later.

[Bokuto Kotaro]: AAAAAKKKKKAAAAAASSSSHIIIIII

[Bokuto Kotaro]: How are you?

…

[Akaashi Keiji]: I’m fine, thank you.

[Akaashi Keiji]: Do you always greet people with that much enthusiasm?

Hesitantly, Akaashi looked at the last message he sent. He figured it may have been a little too direct, especially because he knew he normally didn’t talk to people this way. His mother had always told him to be polite towards others; polite, modest, and unprejudiced, because a good first impression was one of the most important things in life.

However, with Bokuto, it felt…different. He could not exactly explain what it was that made him feel this way, but his question had come out of his fingers so easily, that he had already sent it before remembering that it was quite rude to be this direct.

[Akaashi Keiji]: I don’t mean disrespect. I’m just curious.

…

[Bokuto Kotaro]: YES

[Bokuto Kotaro]: I don’t see the point in pretending to be all serious

Apparently these rules didn’t apply do Bokuto-san. As far as Akaashi had been able to see, he was not someone to be held back by a desire to be polite or to make a good impression and it seemed like he really wore his heart on his sleeve.

Though, at the same time, Akaashi had this feeling that maybe it was just an act. He had never met someone who was as open and pure as his new acquaintance, so it almost seemed impossible for Bokuto-san to be this honest. He clearly wanted something from Akaashi, but only the Gods knew what that might be.

[Bokuto Kotaro]: What are you doing right now???

…

[Akaashi Keiji]: I was planning on reading a bit more.

…

[Bokuto Kotaro]: ON A SATURDAY EVENING?????!!!!!!!!

[Bokuto Kotaro]: LET’S HAVE SOME FUN AKAASHIIII

[Bokuto Kotaro]: SOME FRIENDS ARE COMING OVER TONIGHT DO YOU WANT TO COME TOO??

A bit frustrated, Akaashi let himself fall down on the bed.

He absolutely was not a party person. When he came here and noticed that most days of the week people would be smoking and drinking in front of the accommodation, he had no problem with accepting that that was just not something he liked to do. Just like Bokuto-san apparently was not someone who pretended to be serious, he was not someone to pretend to be all social and outgoing. Besides, he had better things to do than hanging out at the smoking area and trying to make friends with people he was going to leave in a couple of months anyway.

But now that someone actually made an effort to make him attend an occasion like that, it felt really impolite to refuse the offer.

Still, he knew that these events were not the places for him to make friends, and the fact that Bokuto-san was the host, maybe even proved that he really shouldn’t make the effort.

[Akaashi Keiji]: I’m sorry.

[Akaashi Keiji]: Thank you for the offer, but I just remembered that I need to contact my family tonight. Have fun, though.

…

[Bokuto Kotaro]: Oh sad :(

[Bokuto Kotaro]: THANKS!!!!

[Bokuto Kotaro]: SAY HI TO YOUR FAMILY FROM ME!!!

…

[Akaashi Keiji]: They don’t know you, Bokuto-san.

[Akaashi Keiji]: We only met this morning.

…

[Bokuto Kotaro]: THEY DO NOT KNOW ME _YET_

[Bokuto Kotaro]: MAKE SURE TO TELL THEM ONLY NICE THINGS ABOUT ME!!

[Bokuto Kotaro]: THEY WILL LOVE ME

[Bokuto Kotaro]: YOU’LL SEE :D

…

[Akaashi Keiji]: Have a nice evening, Bokuto-san.

…

[Bokuto Kotaro]: YOU TOOOO KKKKAAAASSSHIIIII

[Bokuto Kotaro]: SEE YOU AT BREAKFAST!!!!!


	2. Never opened myself this way

Though four days went by before Akaashi saw Bokuto again.

At first, Bokuto had not shown up to breakfast or dinner-undoubtedly because he was sleeping off a hangover- and the days after that, Akaashi had come down with the flu which made him lose his appetite completely. Those days had passed by in a haze since they were mostly spend sleeping or taking a bath to stop shivering for a bit.

When Akaashi's temperature had dropped and he finally felt hungry enough to endure the tasteless food of the dining hall, his mind had not been on Bokuto in a while. As usual, he took his book with him, and while he made his way downstairs, he noticed how the bright sunlight reflected on the small layer of ice on the ground. It was as if the world had been covered in glitter, and he liked it. Maybe today he could go outside for a bit, so he could, at long last, get some fresh air. With the past few days completely spend inside, his room had slowly started to become quite suffocating and thus he longed for the oxygen that could help him concentrate again.

Although, he did have to get back on track again today. He had lost four whole days of work and two of his assignments were due on the first day after the holidays. If he wanted to catch up so he didn't have to do everything last moment, he had to kick it up a notch. 

With his mind on organising the tasks he had to do today and also trying to include some time for a walk in his schedule, he got his tray of food from the kitchen and walked into the dining hall. He was, in fact, so deeply buried in his thoughts, that he only realised that someone was calling his name after at least two times.

‘AKAASHI-KUN! AKAAAAASSSHIIIII!!!!’

Even without looking up, Akaashi knew it had to be Bokuto and not only because he couldn’t think of anyone else who would know his name here. He had often heard him scream before. Bokuto was probably one of the loudest persons here and therefore, recognising his voice was something even a toddler was capable of.

‘Good morning, Bokuto-san.’

He was standing with his tray in his hands in the middle of the room and because of this, he felt a strong need to keep their conversation to a quick greeting and make his way to the nearest empty table.

Bokuto, on the other hand, had other plans. He was sitting at the far end of one of the big tables in the room and he was surrounded by people Akaashi only recognised from seeing them eat together before. Happily, he waved him over, making Akaashi feel obligated to take a few steps in their direction.

‘How have you been? I haven’t seen you in ages!’

‘I came down with the flu, but I’m fine now.’ Merely because he didn’t want to shout to rise above the noise from all the other people in the dining hall, Akaashi got a bit closer to the table. The guy opposite of Bokuto glanced at him for a moment, then probably decided that it was not his business and went back to his conversation with a small blonde boy on his left. Their discussion heated up quite quickly, which made Akaashi kind of relieved that there was no attention for him anymore. 

He didn’t have a problem with meeting new people.

Often, the problem was the other way around, especially with people who were pretty intense in their nature. 

‘You were sick?! Why didn’t you tell me! I could have brought you soup.’

Somehow it didn’t seem like Bokuto was joking. With his eyebrows raised and eyes wider than Akaashi would have thought possible, he looked extremely sincere, which made that unsettling feeling in his stomach return. It was only now that Akaashi realised that it was a feeling that only appeared on the moments he was talking to Bokuto. It didn’t matter if it was through text or in person, whenever he would notice or picture those big round eyes looking at him, he couldn’t help but feel like Bokuto-san was inspecting every little detail of him. Like an owl looking for prey in the night. _~~Like nothing else mattered.~~_

‘We don’t have a stove, Bro. How the hell would you have made soup in that little kitchen on your floor?’

The guy next to Bokuto didn’t look up from eating his food. He just talked without acknowledging Akaashi’s existence in the slightest.

It struck Akaashi that the guy was quite different from Bokuto and that they probably only had their height in common. In contrast to Bokuto-san, this guy was somewhat skinny, with a long and small face and possibly the darkest tint of hair possible. He looked like he hadn’t done anything about his appearance in the past three years and the slobby gym wear he was wearing, didn’t help with this either.

‘I would have figured something out!’ Bokuto said defensively, almost like he was going to bite the guy next to him. ‘You know I would.’

‘Yes, and then the whole building had to be evacuated because you somehow managed to start a fire with a kettle. Why don’t you just get an extra table for your new friend here? It’s rude to let him eat his breakfast standing.’

‘No, that’s not-’ Akaashi tried, but Bokuto had lit up like a lightbulb and was already sprinting over to one of the empty tables before he could finish his sentence. A bit reluctant since there was nowhere for him to put down his tray, while he hadn’t really planned on spending his precious minutes of breakfast at a table with other people anyway, Akaashi was forced to wait for him to come back.

‘He’s just like a big puppy,’ the guy with the bedhead said, after which he finally looked up. ‘I’m Kuroo by the way.’

‘This is Akaashi,’ Bokuto said, adding another table to the already large table with a loud bang. ‘He’s not from here. He’s from overseas, isn’t that cool?’

Kuroo frowned.

‘Really? You look Japanese though.’

‘Thank you,’ Akaashi said to Bokuto and he took an empty chair from one of the other tables. Carefully, he sat down and he looked at the two guys in front of him.

‘My parents are Japanese, but this is the first time coming here. I’m only here for the semester though.’

‘Ah,’ Kuroo nodded. ‘now that you say it, I can hear the accent. Still, your Japanese is pretty great. Most overseas students here automatically speak English.’

‘But why do that if you can make it easy, right?’ Bokuto said with a mouth full of rice and Akaashi nodded slowly.

‘Akaashi lived with Kinoshita and Ennoshita on the sixth floor, but those guys already went home.’

‘So now you are going to adopt the third one?’ Kuroo said slightly provocative, although Bokuto just nodded enthusiastically. In a way, Akaashi could see what Kuroo had meant by being like a big puppy.

‘The more people the marrier…or something. But don’t say that to Sakusa over there,’ Bokuto vaguely waved to one of the other people at the table (Akaashi figured it was the one at the far end with black curls and a face like he’d rather be anywhere but here), ‘he hates crowds, so that’s why I asked him to sit with us.’

‘By which he means, forced him to sit with us.’

‘And that thing there,’-Bokuto now gestured towards the guy opposite of the one who was probably called Sakusa- ‘that’s Suna. He’s literally always sleeping so you’re lucky to catch him.’

‘He’s not a pokemon, bro.’

‘And then we have Tsukishima, he thinks he’s cool but he’s really cute, you’ll see, and Yaku, don’t mention his height to him because then you won’t be able to walk anymore, Iwaïzumi, or as Brokawa likes to call him, ‘‘Iwa-chan’’, he can hit you very hard so be careful, Brokawa but actually Oikawa is the one opposite of him, he’s a baby and a demon in one body. Then there is Kenma, he is very shy, a bit like you, I think you’ll like him, and Taketora, he tries too hard.’

Taketora, the guy opposite of Bokuto, threw his introducer an angry look, before the blonde boy, who Akaashi figured was Kenma, softly pulled on his jacket and made him return to their conversation.

‘but he is honest and has a great sense of humour,’ Bokuto went on, unmoved by the opinion of the other boys at the table. ‘Well you met Kuroo now, but just let me tell you that he is really really stupid. He has the most stupid ideas that you can come up with, so never listen to him, because otherwise you always get in trouble.’

Kuroo smirked, pulled Bokuto closer to him, and started ruffling wildly through his hair.

‘Yes, and this is Bokuto and he has no brain cells or whatsoever, so you’d be better of just letting him ramble on. And with that being said…’

He and Bokuto exchanged some quick looks.

‘WELCOME TO OUR GROUP OF WEIRDOS!’

* * *

And with that, Akaashi was apparently included in the group of Japanese people. 

He hadn't asked for it and he definitely wasn't waiting for a couple of weirdos to ''adopt'' him (as Kuroo had called it), but somehow things had gotten too far to crawl back into non-existence again. Once Bokuto had set his eye on someone, the guy called ‘Kenma’ told him, no one was safe. He even stopped taking his book with him to the dining hall, knowing that there would always be people sitting there expecting him to come to sit with them.

Even though none of the other guys had really taken any interest in him that first day, he’d gotten to know a few of them over the course of the week, and at some point, Akaashi found himself even looking forward to breakfast and dinner time.

They were all very different.

Like Bokuto had said, Suna was the one who was mostly absent. Though Akaashi learned that this was not because of excessive alcoholism or something, the guy was literally just always able to sleep. It was quite admirable, actually. If there was someone who drank the most, that would have been Kuroo or Bokuto- however, Taketora came to a close third. Most of the time, he tried to compete for second or first place, which actually always resulted in him vomiting in the toilet and Kuroo and Bokuto calling him a pussy for not being able to handle anything.

Iwaizumi could be quite okay as well, though he had a bit of a strange relationship with his childhood friend Oikawa. Apparently, those guys had been friends since elementary, and Akaashi guessed that it was probably this, that made them accept the behaviour of the other. Oikawa was loud, a little self-absorbed and he would tease his friend whenever possible.

Iwaizumi on the other hand was very laid back and friendly until he was fed up with Oikawa’s teasing and he would burst. Then he started screaming and smacking Oikawa, who would just be laughing and teasing him even more. Akaashi didn’t understand what made them like each other so much, but that made it rather interesting to watch them.

Kenma, Tsukishima and Sakusa were the most quiet ones of the pack. Akaashi hadn’t spoken with Sakusa or Tsukishima yet -since the first just always looked like he’d die if someone started talking to him and the second only talked to roast Kuroo or Bokuto-san-, but it turned out that he and Kenma did have some things in common. They’d both rather observe than talk, but were not absent-minded when people started talking to them, and they both liked to spend their time alone in their room, Kenma with his games and Akaashi with his books. He was the one Akaashi talked the most with when Bokuto-san was sleeping off the night before, and then they could have really interesting conversations.

Like Akaashi, Kenma was someone capable of analysing a situation in detail and therefore offering a different, thought out point of view on, for example, how they could best break into the kitchen and force the chefs to use seasoning on their food.

And then there was Bokuto-san, as loud as ever and often capable of dragging Akaashi into thinking about who had allowed that guy to go live on his own. The stock of bandages Akaashi had brought with him from home just in case, was now almost gone. He was absolutely not able to see the danger in his own ideas, which caused him to fall on the ground, run into things (mostly trees) and there even was this one time when they went for a walk after dinner and the streets were covered in ice, that he wanted to challenge Kuroo into who of them could slide the furthest.

Kuroo, who apparently had thought it would be very funny to ignore Akaashi’s warning about the pond in front of them, had let his friend slide first and had laughed the hardest, while Akaashi had already been on his way to get Bokuto out of the water.

‘Group of weirdos’ maybe wasn’t even such a bad name to describe them and it was maybe because of this, that Akaashi started to feel less and less obliged to keep some strangers company.

[Bokuto Kotaro]: AAAAKKKKAAAAAAASSSSHHHHHIIIIIIIII

[Bokuto Kotaro]: WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR CHRISTMAS????

Bokuto-sans messages didn’t surprise him anymore. They had become a part of his day as well since Bokuto kept asking him more and more questions each day. Some were quite plain, like a favourite colour or plant, while others, on the other hand, were just weird. For example, Akaashi had no idea what to answer when Bokuto asked him which bread he would choose to be.

However, this question was maybe the hardest of all to answer. Because the truth was, he didn’t have any plans. He’d probably continue his normal activities without changing it for any festivity and he knew this was the last thing he wanted to tell Bokuto-san. Until now, he had always subtly avoided the drinking parties with his newfound friends, since he still didn’t feel comfortable enough to say that he was just really not into those kinds of things. Maybe Sakusa of all could relate with him a bit, although the number of people was definitely not the problem here. 

He didn’t mind being in crowds. He just didn’t feel much for being the only sober one while everyone ignored his attempts to make them go easy on the creation of chaos. Besides, not being present was always better than being a party pooper.

Still, refusing or coming up with lies didn’t become any easier. If all, he felt really guilty for not being honest and he figured it was quite cowardly as well.

[Akaashi Keiji]: The usual, I think.

[Akaashi Keiji]: How about you?

…

[Bokuto Kotaro]: DO YOU WANT TO CELEBRATE TOGETHER?

[Bokuto Kotaro]: KUBROO AND KENMA ARE GOING HOME FOR A FEW DAYS AND BROKAWA AND IWA-KUN TOO AND I ASKED TAKEBRO AND THE REST TO COME TOO

[Bokuto Kotaro]: WE CAN TEACH YOU CHRISTMAS JAPANESE STYLE

…

[Akaashi Keiji]: Isn’t Christmas an American holiday that the Japanese people have taken over?

…

[Bokuto Kotaro]: IDK

[Bokuto Kotaro]: BUT IT WOULD BE AMAZING IF YOU WERE THERE!!!!!

Akaashi softly bit his lip. He had never been good at saying no.

But maybe this could be fun? Bokuto wouldn’t have his usual drinking mate and it could be a good opportunity to get to know Tsukishima, Sakusa, and Suna too. Thinking about a more western style of celebrating Christmas, there was still a great chance of having to deal with drunk people, but maybe, just maybe, he could have a nice evening as well…

If all, at least he would have tried.

[Akaashi Keiji]: Thank you for the invitation.

[Akaashi Keiji]: Is there anything I can prepare for that night?

…

[Bokuto Kotaro]: YOU’RE COMING??????!!!!!!!

[Bokuto Kotaro]: THAT’S AMAZING :DDDDDDDDDDD

[Bokuto Kotaro]: IT WILL BE FUN I PROMISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bokuto Kotaro]: NO DON’T PREPARE ANYTHING AND LET ME SURPRISE YOU!!!

…

[Akaashi Keiji]: Okay.

[Akaashi Keiji]: Thank you, Bokuto-san.


	3. All these words I don't just say

However, since Yaku and Taketora both went back home as well and Tsukishima, Sakusa, and Suna never answered in the first place –‘ASSES’ Bokuto had called them the morning after-, it ended up being just the two of them. Akaashi couldn’t say he was very disappointed when he heard the news, but for the sake of Bokuto-san, who had been very excited for a big party, he tried to be as sympathetic as he could.

Luckily, Bokuto brightened up pretty quickly, after Akaashi had told him that he still looked forward to spending the night together, and with a loud ‘see you later’, he had stoved off to start the preparations.

Akaashi had no idea what the guy had in mind, but until the evening, he didn’t catch one glimpse of Bokuto. Halfway the afternoon, he had asked if everything went okay, to which Bokuto had answered with ‘yes’ in his usual enthusiasm.

Still, Akaashi thought it would be better to be safe than sorry, so he made a trip to the grocery store to get them some onigiri just in case. Knowing Bokuto, a plan B was never too much. He definitely learned that the past week and not only because Kuroo had warned him about the excessive ideas of his bro.

That’s why it didn’t come as a surprise to him that, about half an hour before he was expected to go to the ninth floor, the smoke alarm went off and the whole building had to be evacuated. Repressing a smile, he calmly made his way downstairs and outside, where he joined the other people who had decided to stay over the holidays.

It didn’t take long for him to find the tall figure with the spiked hair in the small crowd. 

‘Are you alright?’ he asked, after which he walked over to him. Even from a distance, he could see that he was covered in flour and dough.

Bokuto-san turned around.

‘I swear, this time I didn’t do it on purpose,’ he said with a pouting face, which made Akaashi realise that suddenly he wasn’t cold anymore.

‘I know, the sensors are quite sensitive here. What happened?’

‘I forgot the bread in the toaster. It’s all black now and the spaghetti wouldn’t cook in the kettle and the sauce exploded in the microwave. I’m sorry Akaashi. I ruined everything. I wanted to surprise you with food from home because you told me you like pasta, but now we don’t have food at all and we will starve.’

Dramatically and probably close to tears, Bokuto let his head drop on Akaashi’s shoulders. The impact of this was close to Akaashi feeling like someone suddenly dropped his bag of books on him, so first, he needed to find his balance before he could react to this.

He looked at the people of security who walked in and out of the building and he sighed.

‘Bokuto-san, we will not starve. That’s not possible in one night.’

‘But I’m hungry Akaashi. I was so excited for tonight, that I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast and I don’t want you to be hungry too. This was supposed to be fun, not torture.’

‘We can still make it fun,’ Akaashi said while turning towards Bokuto and therefore forcing him to stand up straight again. ‘I still have some food in the fridge. When we can go inside again, you take a shower and I’ll prepare it.’

‘But Akaashi, then you are doing all the work. I’ll be a bad host.’ Bokuto still hadn’t stopped pouting.

‘Between making dinner and cleaning up, I think you are definitely the one doing most of the work, Bokuto-san.’

‘AKAASHI!’ But Bokuto started smiling again, making Akaashi feel more satisfied than he would expect of himself. He realised that he liked making Bokuto-san happy, yet he was aware of the fact that it was probably a bit strange to admit this.

Fortunately, Bokuto-san himself seemed completely unaware of his overthinking and just rambled on about some ‘‘extremely awesome’’ dog that he had seen while shopping that day.

* * *

Forty minutes later, Akaashi found himself walking up the stairs with a big plate of onigiri and a small bottle of soy sauce in his bag.

However, when he arrived at the ninth floor, he was mesmerised by the Christmas lights that were hanging all through the hall. As far as he knew, Bokuto was the only person on his floor as well, so unless his floormates had left their decorations, Bokuto must have gone through great lengths to make this a special evening. Judging by the pink flowery tape that was used to stick the cord to the walls, Akaashi thought the latter was more likely.

While walking through the dark hallway, illuminated by what looked like stars, Akaashi made his way to the only room that had noise coming out of it. There was a nervous feeling that made his stomach feel full of holes. At home, they never celebrated Christmas like this. They always had just a nice dinner, after which Akaashi would his parents some small gifts and then they would watch a movie. Christmas lights like this, or even a Christmas tree, could only be found on the streets.

He wondered if he should have told that to Bokuto before he had made all this effort just to make him feel at home…

‘AKAAAASSSHIIIIII!!!!!’

Bokuto opened the door with a smile almost wider than his own head and quickly took the plate that Akaashi handed to him.

‘Welcome!’

‘Thank you.’

‘I would ask you if I could take your coat,’ Bokuto started, while he let Akaashi inside, ‘but I’m afraid that won’t work if you’re not wearing a coat. So just imagine that I did.’

‘I appreciate it,’ Akaashi said, with his eyes going all over the room. There were even more lights in here and still, it didn’t feel like it was too much. Actually, it was perfect.

It was dark enough to hide the mess, but there was enough light to make out the posters and other decorations on the wall. Bokuto had put his bed in one of the corners, so there was enough room for them to sit at the desk in the middle of the room, which he had covered with a red and white table cloth. On each side, a plate, glass, and napkin were waiting to be used and Bokuto had even managed to find two fake candles to be put in between them.

Akaashi wouldn’t have thought someone would go through so much trouble for just a Christmas dinner.

‘This is amazing,’ he said, but when he turned around and saw Bokuto staring at him, he forgot what else he wanted to say.

He was…different.

Serious.

~~Extremely handsome.~~

Instead of his usual sportswear, he had changed into something way more formal and, at the same time, still casual. Comparing to the tie he was wearing under a dark blue sweater, Akaashi felt quite underdressed with his own blouse, which he literally wore every other day. He didn’t know Bokuto-san even owned these types of clothes.

It was just so different than normal.

‘You like it?’ Even though it seemed impossible, Bokuto had brightened up even more and he walked over to his desk, so he could put down the plate. Then he got to one of the chairs -which was probably ‘‘borrowed’’ from the dining hall- and gestured for Akaashi to sit down.

While Akaashi let himself be assisted in taking place, he silently thanked the small lights for not being bright enough to show his blushing. Who would have thought Bokuto-san was actually quite the gentleman.

‘You look nice,’ Bokuto said after he had sat down opposite of Akaashi. He rested his head on his hands and without losing his usual observing look in his eyes, he grinned.

A bit awkwardly, Akaashi rubbed the back of his head.

‘I’m sorry I’m not wearing anything different than normal.’

‘I wasn’t talking about clothes.’

Feeling his head heat up even more, Akaashi quickly looked around to find something else to talk about, because literally anything would be better than the current topic.

His eyes rested on the poster behind Bokuto on the wall. It was artistic with lots of lines and colours and -if Akaashi was not mistaken- it was Bokuto himself who was being pictured. He was flying; one arm outstretched in the air, the other behind his head as if he was going to slap something with incredible power. _Nothing else matters_ was written in a powerful font beside his figure.

Akaashi figured that the artist must have been really talented because he couldn’t think of something else that had ever made him feel so astonished before. It was like Bokuto was ready to blow you away with every ounce of power he had gathered, which was probably enough to kill an animal half his size.

It was truly an inspiring work of art.

‘You like volleyball?’ he asked, still looking at the picture and Bokuto nodded fast.

‘I LOVE IT! Have you ever played? It’s just, the thrill of the court and being in a match, it’s a feeling like no other and it’s AMAZING!’

‘I’ve played when I was in secondary school,’ Akaashi admitted, trying to repress the memories that popped up. The feeling that Bokuto-san was talking about, still opened a small wound on his heart whenever he would think back to his volleyball days. His school had never been a powerhouse, but he had loved playing and it had taken him a good amount of time to actually be okay with quitting for the sake of his studies.

It surprised him that it still didn’t feel like just a memory.

‘REALLY??? WHAT POSITION DID YOU PLAY? DO YOU STILL PLAY??’ Bokuto seemed to find the idea of Akaashi sharing his volleyball interest extremely appealing. He made Akaashi think of a puppy that finally received candy from his owner.

‘Setter, and no, I do not play anymore. You were a wing spiker?’

‘Are,’ Bokuto corrected him. ‘I still play and I definitely don’t plan on quitting soon. I am going to be the best in the whole of Japan. That’s why I’m in Tokyo now. This is the place to become strong and I need to get stronger because volleyball is all there is for me.’

‘Nothing else matters, right?’ Akaashi made a gesture towards the poster.

‘It’s awesome, don’t you think?’ Bokuto looked so proud, that Akaashi wouldn’t be surprised if the picture was his most precious possession. ‘Oikawa made it for me. He’s a setter too and a damn good one. He’s trying to go overseas. I think that’s pretty dope.’

‘But you don’t want to go overseas?’

‘Absolutely not. There are some guys here that I definitely want to beat and I won’t go until I did that. One of them is called Ushijima. He’s left-handed and can literally blast a hole in the ground with his spike. But,’ Bokuto narrowed his eyes, ‘power isn’t everything. Sometimes the smallest opponents can cause the most trouble.’

Akaashi had no idea what he meant by that, but there was something in the way he talked, that gave him the idea that this was not just high school volleyball anymore. Back home, they hadn’t been nearly as competitive. They had played because they loved it and as long as they were able to play, their opponent didn’t matter.

Bokuto-san, however, was on a whole other level of enjoying volleyball. He was completely serious.

* * *

They enjoyed their dinner over a course of almost two hours and Akaashi had to admit that it surprised him a little how time had passed by so quickly. It felt like only minutes since he arrived on the ninth floor.

Though apparently, their evening was far from over. Even though it had been close to midnight, Bokuto had asked him if he wanted to walk outside for a bit, because ever since the Christmas lights had been put up in the city, it had become a habit of him to go for a walk to get mesmerised by the decorations over and over again. He told Akaashi about how he had made it his personal task to take care of the illumination at his home since he was determined to have the best decorations in his street. His family had always found it a bit ridiculous, but whenever the neighbours or even just people passing through would pass by their house and compliment them on the lighting, they would thank him for his effort until spring came around.

According to Bokuto-san, those were the best days in the year and despite the fact that Akaashi had heard him say that on at least three different occasions already, he liked seeing Bokuto this happy. His happiness was something so straightforward and pure, that it was almost adorable. For example, when they came to one of the most illuminated streets in the city center and Bokuto had finally removed his hands from Akaashi’s eyes, he looked at the decorations as if he had been the one coming from overseas. Rows and rows of lights in trees, on the ground and hanging from one roof to the other, made the city look almost like a scene from a fairy tale.

It couldn’t even be compared to the ‘‘illuminations’’ at home. Seeing this, Akaashi wondered if the decorations at home could even be called illumination in the first place. Occasionally some balls in a tree were almost pathetic compared to what could be seen here. There were too many colours to be counted and the lights reached for as far as they were able to see.

It was magical and honestly, one of the most beautiful things Akaashi had ever encountered.

‘You know,’ Bokuto broke the silence, as they made their way through the scenery. ‘Here in Japan, Christmas Eve is considered the most romantic day of the year.’

‘I didn’t know that,’ Akaashi said, walking with his hands in his pockets, while Bokuto strolled beside him.

‘How would you react if someone told you that she liked you?’

Biting on his lip, Akaashi felt obliged to keep looking at the lights around them. He put his hands deeper in his pockets and started searching for the right words.

‘I’m…not good with that, Bokuto-san.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I have experienced some people…approaching me, but it never ended well.’

‘Have you been in a relationship?’ Unlike their usual conversations, Bokuto seemed quite calm when talking about this. Calm and serious, as if he did know that now was not the time to overwhelm someone else with his enthusiasm.

It made Akaashi wonder what he had been through and how it, hopefully, was different than what he had experienced himself.

‘I guess I just haven’t been lucky enough to find the right one.’

‘You really think it’s about luck?’ 

Hesitantly, Akaashi shrugged.

‘I think we shouldn’t change ourselves for the sake of others. However, I’m probably not the definition of easy if it comes to connecting with someone. So yes, maybe in that way I think luck plays some big role.’

Bokuto frowned, also putting his hands in the pockets of his jacket. It was cold outside, so Akaashi had already wondered how his fingers had not been blue with cold.

‘But do you believe in something like a soulmate? Luck can still do its thing in finding the right one.’

‘If only we were able to answer those kinds of questions, life would be much easier, don’t you think?’

‘Yes, I think so too.’ Suddenly Bokuto halted and he looked at Akaashi with an expression that almost made Akaashi think that he was surprised.

‘Just for the record, I don’t think it’s hard to connect with you, Kaashi. If people at your home made you think that way, then they are lazy shitheads who think that they can get something without trying. I think you deserve way better.’

Startled by this sudden comment, Akaashi needed a few seconds to process what just had been said.

The same expression as when he had talked about volleyball, had returned to Bokuto’s face. However, now that Akaashi knew that this time their topic was no one other than himself, it almost had something scary.

Most of the time, Bokuto was someone as enthusiastic and simple as a new-born puppy, but it was moments like this that sent a shiver down his spine. It was not an expression Akaashi had seen often, so the fact that it had appeared twice in one evening, felt like a small miracle. Bokuto sure was something.

‘Thank you, Bokuto-san,’ he said with a blush on his cheeks that easily could have been from the cold. 


	4. And nothing else matters

The week after that Christmas Eve, Akaashi and Bokuto met up almost every single day. Sometimes they just watched a movie or show each other pictures from their phones, accompanied with amusing stories, while other times, they repeated their stroll through the decorated streets of Tokyo.

It had started snowing as well, so occasionally they would have snowball fights with Sakusa and Tsukishima (who Bokuto-san bothered until they finally surrendered and went outside with them) and twice, Bokuto took him ice skating in the nearby park. Akaashi had been a real disaster on the ice and thus he had been forced to cling on to Bokuto, until the latter finally decided that he was too hungry to go on. Then they would go to a small café, where Akaashi had treated Bokuto to hot chocolate and lunch, and where they could spend hours talking about almost everything.

That was definitely something that Akaashi had learned about Bokuto-san: he was a really big talker. He asked loads of questions and he could jump from one weird topic to the next one within seconds, without Akaashi even being able to figure out how these linked together.

Still, Akaashi never felt like was just talking to avoid a silence. Especially since Bokuto could ask him questions he had never considered before, Akaashi often had to take some time to consider his answer and during those times, Bokuto-san was unusually patient. He took in every word like a dry sponge in a bowl of water and literally nothing was weird for him. Akaashi definitely appreciated being taking so seriously. 

He really liked spending time with Bokuto-san, though his tasks for university had to be completed as well. That’s why he often spent nights working on assignments, time otherwise he would have used to keep his sleeping schedule on point.

But he was completely willing to sacrifice his rest, knowing that it would be for one week at most. He had planned his trip back home the day their Christmas break ended, and after living in Tokyo for almost four months now, he knew that this was his last chance to make the most of his time here.

It pained him to think that he would have to say goodbye to the friends he had made here because, over time, Akaashi had noticed how much he’d grown attached to this group of people. He liked eating and talking with them and he started becoming more and more proud of making the decision to answer Bokuto-sans call that morning. Until two weeks ago, he’d thought he didn’t need anyone else to be able to live on his own in a different country.

Truth was, however, that he might not need people to survive, but he definitely needed people to live. And he slowly started regretting not being able to figure that out earlier.

On the day of his leave, he was surprised that even Suna had come to the dining hall to say goodbye to him. Yet he had also noticed that one of the most important persons was missing from the group.

‘So we come and you go, huh?’ Kuroo said, being one of the last ones remaining. He smirked when Akaashi silently nodded.

‘You know, you can’t blame him for being simple-minded.’

‘Can I blame him for being an ass?’

‘Oh, yes absolutely.’ Kuroo opened his arms and before Akaashi could show one form of protest, he hugged him very tightly. Akaashi got slightly crushed by his grip, but it was okay. Next to Bokuto, Kenma and Kuroo were probably the closest friends he had made here.

When Kuroo let go, he still rested one of his hands on Akaashi’s shoulder.

‘I’ll try to reach him again, but I’m pretty sure he wanted me to do that if he’s too much of a prick to pick up his phone.’

‘Don’t try to make excuses for your own desires,’ Kenma said. He was standing closest to them and he gave Akaashi a quick hug as well, before looking up to Kuroo again. The difference in their height was now even more visible.

‘It doesn’t suit you.’

‘Then what does suit me, kitten?’ Kuroo grinned, after which Akaashi realised he still hadn’t figured out their exact relationship. Kenma was probably the only one being called kitten and the only time he spoke in that provocative tone, was when he was talking to Kuroo. It wouldn’t surprise him if those two had something going on that went beyond friendship.

However, it didn’t matter anymore. Akaashi would leave and this was probably the last time he would see any of them. Of course, there was something as texts and video calls, but statistically speaking, chances of their friendship surviving this distance were just very slim. It would be better if he expected this to be the end.

‘Thank you, I enjoyed these last weeks,’ Akaashi said and after a quick wave and with the screams of Kuroo and Oikawa calling him out, he made his way to his room again.

‘Don’t be a stranger!’

‘I’ll hunt you down if you ignore me.’

‘I expect at least three photos of me on your wall!’

‘Then he will have nightmares for the rest of his life.’

‘Don’t be jealous, kitten. I love you too.’

The slamming of the door, made Akaashi realise even more that his time in Tokyo now really had come to an end.

* * *

The last few hours before it was time to leave for the airport, Akaashi answered some e-mails and he submitted a few of his assignments. Now, there was only one left, which was due in a couple of days, so he could include his experience from his journey back in his final reflection.

His thoughts, however, were not cooperating at all.

He was not angry, just merely disappointed that he had been let down like this. Of course, he couldn’t blame Bokuto-san for his forgetfulness, but he had thought that their friendship had meant more than this. Maybe Bokuto-san wasn’t someone to say goodbye, but that didn’t mean that he was the same.

On the other hand, he knew that it was his own fault as well. He had let himself grown attached to this person who was as predictable as the weather, when he had known he would be leaving in two weeks. The fact that he had hoped that maybe this time, his conscience would be proven wrong, couldn’t be used as a valuable argument in convincing himself that maybe it would have been better if he had went home at the start of the holidays. At least then, he would have spared himself the trouble of saying goodbye.

He was already putting on his jacket, when suddenly a loud banging on his door startled him to his toes. The door was slammed open and Bokuto-san ran inside his room. He was completely out of breath and thus he needed a few seconds to recover.

Akaashi silently waited for him to speak.

‘KAASHI, I DIN’T KNOW YOU WERE LEAVING!’

‘I told you three times last week, Bokuto-san.’

Bokuto walked over to him pulled him into such a firm embrace, that only Akaashi’s toes kept touching the ground.

‘Yes, but I didn’t know it was TODAY.’

Akaashi was very tempted to forgive him in that very second and yet, he couldn’t help this feeling of hurt scratching at him from the inside.

‘I don’t want you to leave, Kaashi. You’re my best friend.’

‘Can you put me down, Bokuto-san?’ Akaashi bit his lip, while Bokuto answered his request and carefully, lowered him to the ground again.

When they looked at each other, Akaashi could see the tears glistening in those big round eyes and he started to notice this big lump in his throat, that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

All of the sudden, he had forgotten why he had been mad in the first place. How could he be angry with a pouting Bokuto like that?

‘Thank you for these past weeks. I…had lots of fun.’

‘Kaashi, please. You can stay in my room and we will have even more fun than before. If it’s money that you’re worried about, I can get a job. We haven’t even played volleyball together once and I wanted to go in a pedal boat with you.’

‘Bokuto-san,’ Akaashi said, reluctantly trying to ignore the desire to throw everything in the wind and let himself be convinced that it was indeed not impossible to stay. Why was it so hard to say goodbye? And why was it even worse than this morning?

Bokuto-san was just…a friend.

‘My college will start in a couple of days. I have to go back home and see my family again.’

‘But we can be your family,’ Bokuto said.

Although he probably saw that his ideas weren’t really an option, because he dropped his arms in defeat. He looked away and when he sniffed, Akaashi saw a few tears dripping down his cheeks.

They landed on his sweater with an impact so great, that Akaashi felt like someone was using his chest as a gong. He could feel his breath getting caught in his throat, which made his voice very raw when he finally broke the silence.

‘I have to go.’

‘Kaashi?’

Questionably, Akaashi looked at Bokuto, who was still staring at his shoes and apparently had started blushing.

‘Promise me you’ll come back? You’ll always have a home here.’

Knowing he was only a whisker away from crying himself, Akaashi got on his toes, so he was able to embrace Bokuto-san for the first and last time. Bokuto didn’t react to this, which made him tighten his grip even more.

He realised he didn’t want to let go. If only this moment could last forever, he would be completely okay with that.

Because Bokuto was different.

He was more than just a friend and now that Akaashi had found that connection, he didn’t want to give it up anymore. It was something new and absolutely terrifying, but it was magical.

It was love.

‘I got something for you,’ Bokuto said, when Akaashi had let go and was procrastinating the moment that he had to walk over to his suitcase. He reached in the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a big envelope. After a short moment of hesitation, he handed it to Akaashi, who looked at his name on the front.

‘Only open it once you are at the airport, okay?’

‘What is it?’ Akaashi asked, even though he already had an idea of what Bokuto was going to say.

‘You’ll see,’ Bokuto said and he held the door for him. ‘Will you let me walk you to the metro station? I promise I won’t embarrass you with my crying.’

‘I think we’re already past that.’

But Akaashi accepted Bokuto’s offer of taking his suitcase for him and together they walked towards the elevators.

* * *

Turned out that his feeling wasn’t wrong. Once the moment arrived that they really had to say goodbye to each other, Bokuto wasn’t able to hold back any of his tears. In fact, he was still sobbing, when Akaashi turned around for one last wave, before stepping inside the elevator and adding himself to the people that would go down with him.

It was an image that haunted him on the full trip to the airport and couldn’t even be ignored when Akaashi went to check in his luggage and get his ticket. The envelope burned in the inside of his jacket, which almost made it impossible for him to be patient. The queue to go through the customs was just moving way too slowly.

He didn’t even get any lunch when he was finally able to do as he pleased while waiting for boarding. Without hesitation, he ran towards his gate, where he was the first person to take a seat on any of the benches. He pulled out the envelope and only having enough restraint to carefully open a present given by Bokuto, he took two pieces of paper out of it.

One was a letter, which he opened first.

_KAAAAAAASSSSSSHIIIIIIIIIIIII <3 _

_If you’re reading this, it means that my plan to convince you to stay has failed._

_Sad :(_

_But I’m happy that you’re reading this because I wanted to give you something meaningful and my first idea didn’t work out. Now that I think of it, a big cake would probably not have been the best idea anyway with traveling and all, but at least this time I didn’t set off the fire alarm :D_

Akaashi silently thanked whatever had prevented another evacuation. Kuroo probably wouldn’t be able to shut up about it -since he hadn’t after hearing what had happened on Christmas Eve- and Akaashi wouldn’t feel very at ease if he knew that Bokuto was at the mercy of his best friend.

_You’re very special to me, Kaashi, and I’m very grateful for getting to know you. I know you don’t really believe in something as soulmates or fate, but I think us meeting was meant to be. Honestly, I couldn’t think of someone better to spend my time with. Maybe Kuroo, but he’s also mean._

_Do you remember telling me about one of the assignments you had to do for your home institution? You had to describe yourself in four words and keep doing that a few times during your stay here. I think this might be too late, but I wanted to help you out with that, because you were always very shy when we were talking about you. I think you don’t have any reason to be like that. You’re absolutely amazing and that’s why I made my own list. I hope you will come to see it too._

  1. _Thoughtful- You always have a solution. When we needed food on Christmas Eve, when my favourite movie wasn’t available anymore, when I couldn’t sleep… When I think all is lost and we are all doomed, YOU ARE THE HERO!!!_
  2. _Patient- You are able to listen to me. You’re interested, even after me talking for an hour about volleyball, and you’re calm in situations I freak out. I don’t know how, but I really admire that._
  3. _Kind- You will never be able to see or hear Akaashi Keiji being rude to someone. Even when he’d rather sit alone, he will accept your offer to come sit with a whole group of people. Kenma told me that Kubro and I were very rude that morning, so I’m sorry. Though I can’t actually say I regret it ;)_
  4. _Caring- You always look out for me, Kaashi. I know that I don’t acknowledge (did I spell that right??) it often, but thank you._



_(5. BEAUTIFUL – I know you don’t like to hear it, but I’m just gonna keep saying it until you finally accept that you are the most beautiful creature in the world. To prove it, I added one of our pictures to this letter and I order you to keep it, so I will always be able to refer to it when you start blushing again. I’m really going to miss having that face around every day.)_

_As you can see, I added one extra. Consider that the first of many times MWUAHAHAHA!!!!_

_I hope it can convince you to start trusting yourself. Life is ours, we live it our way and we do not live it to please others. It’s okay to care and to trust because you don’t have to do it all on your own. And if other people do not accept that, then that’s their problem._

_Stay close, Kaashi!_

_Love,_

_Bokuto_

**Author's Note:**

> As you can see, the story is inspired by THAT song from Metallica. Haha I think everyone knows it.   
> In the end, it turned out a bit different than I had planned, but I'm okay with that. It is based on my own experience (from which I have just returned), but the guy over there, had in his personality nothing in common with Bokuto's personality. Still, it almost felt like a fairy tale. First time I came to his room, he played the song for me on his guitar, and when it was finally time to say goodbye, he gave me a letter with the first lines of the song. And it huuuuuurrrttttsssssssss.  
> It still does, but writing this story did help with it. So yeah, that's it. I hope you enjoyed :D 
> 
> (P.S. This was literally the first time trying to write in this format, so please don't hold it against me.... Last story I just typed in word and copy pasted in here. I'm still trying to find my style in this oops)


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